Israeli Hoops Coach Ejected from MSG, Won’t Leave

It’s not often that a rabbi steps in to resolve a disagreement on a professional basketball court, but that’s what happened yesterday at Madison Square Garden, when the New York Knicks played an exhibition game against Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, with proceeds to benefit an Israeli charity for children. Pini Gershon, Maccabi’s coach, approached the referee to complain about the behavior of Knick Al Harrington but found that his own ’tude earned him a technical foul—Gershon’s second, which also earned him an ejection from the game. He wouldn’t leave the court, though, and the charity’s founder, Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, then approached the referee himself asking him to reconsider Gershon’s removal. “This is not a regular game,” Grossman apparently told the officials. “In a game for friendship, you forgive.” No dice. After a 10-minute argument, Gershon finally left, storming out of the arena. “What can I do? I tried,” said Grossman, rabbinically. “I tried to make peace.”

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